International Economic Law and Policy Blog

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Simon Lester

SIEL October Conversation: ‘Institutions and Dispute Settlement under WTO’

From the SIEL: SIEL October ConversationThe Society of International Economic Law (SIEL) is pleased to invite you to its February Conversation entitled ‘Institutions and Dispute Settlement under WTO’, with Geraldo Vidigal (University of Amsterdam), Tommaso Soave (Central European University; Former WTO Appellate Body Secretariat), Marcus Gustafsson (Legal Service of the

What Does the Biden Administration Think About a Power-Based vs. a Rules-Based Trading System?

I wanted to elaborate on a point I made in my post from last week, where I discussed U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai's response to my question about ways to improve the WTO panel process. As a reminder, here's what she was asked and how

USTR Requests ITC Investigation on Distributional Effects of Goods and Services Trade and Trade Policy

USTR has just requested that the ITC carry out the following two-part investigation of distributional effects of goods and services trade and trade policy: under authority delegated by the President to the United States Trade Representative and pursuant to Section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.

Guest Post: ‘The crown and the jewel’ The rise and fall of the WTO Appellate Body: a critical analysis

This is a guest post from law professor Luca Rubini: In yesterday’s speech in Geneva, Ambassador Katherine Tai, the current USTR, said: “Reforming dispute settlement is not about restoring the Appellate Body for its own sake, or going back to the way it used to be. It is about

Katherine Tai on WTO Dispute Settlement

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai gave a speech on WTO issues in Geneva today at the Graduate Institute's Geneva Trade Platform. Here is the section on WTO dispute settlement: Over the past quarter century, WTO members have discovered that they can get around the hard part of

Birmingham Law School International Economic Law and Policy Working Group Events

This is from law prof Luca Rubini: We are glad to present the first events in the 2021/2022 academic year of the International Economic Law and Policy Working Group (IELPWG), set up in 2019 at Birmingham Law School. The IELPWG is a highly-focused discussion group for those numerous scholars

Soumaya Keynes' Great Special Report on World Trade (and Two Quibbles)

Soumaya Keynes of the Economist has a great six part Special Report on World Trade. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it! (Unfortunately, Soumaya is apparently leaving the trade beat, but this was a nice way to go out). There were two small bits in the environment part that

New GATT Dispute Database from the WTO

The WTO Secretariat has just put out a cool new database on GATT disputes. The official press release is here: The database allows users to search for information relating to the 317 GATT disputes brought by contracting parties from 1948 to 1995. The information provided includes documents such as consultation

The Role of Women in U.S.-China Trade Negotiations

I found this question and answer from CNBC's Kayla Tausche to U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai interesting: Tausche: In the direct talks that took place during the prior administration, the only women that were at the table were the translators. Do you fear that because of Chinese

The Biden Administration's China Trade Policy

I wrote a piece over at China Trade Monitor (still free for now!) on Katherine Tai's speech from yesterday and the Biden administration's developing China trade policy. Here's the intro and conclusions: After months of saying that they are reviewing their China trade policy,